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Long-time UCLA supporter and alumna Rose Gilbert (UCLA '40) passed away on Dec. 16 at the age of 95. Gilbert, also known as "Mama G", dedicated her life to education, teaching English for 63 years in the LA Unified School District, including 52 at Palisades High School from 1961 until her retirement in 2013.

Gilbert's contributions to UCLA Athletics are immeasurable, particularly on the academic side. She endowed multiple athletic scholarships in football and men's and women's basketball. She also created the Rose and Sam Gilbert Fellowship, awarded annually to two student-athletes who were admitted into a UCLA graduate program. Additionally, she provided funding for the renovation of the student-athlete learning center, now named the Rose Gilbert Learning Center, and annually funded both the UCLA Scholar-Athlete Banquet and the Student-Athlete Graduation Ceremony. The UCLA women's basketball program honored Gilbert with an academic award named after her, the Mama G Award for the team member with the highest GPA.

Gilbert's footprints have been left all over the UCLA campus, from the neuroscience program to Powell Library to the College Honors program. She was a major benefactor of scholarships on campus, including the Rose Gilbert in Memory of Maggie Gilbert Scholarship, the Rose Gilbert Honors Programs Scholarship and the Rose Gilbert Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Gilbert also created the Maggie G. Gilbert Endowed Chair in Bipolar Disorders at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. Gilbert was recognized in 2008 with a Honorary Fellow Award from the UCLA College of Letters and Science.

In addition to her teaching service at Palisades High School, Gilbert's philanthropic gifts benefited Palisades High School, to which she donated generously for renovations and improvements, including the Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center.

"It’s hard to convey in words how great a loss the UCLA family has suffered with the passing of Rose Gilbert," said UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. "Rose set a lofty standard to which all of us should aspire. With an unwavering commitment to education, Rose’s teaching career spanned more than six decades until her retirement last year at age 94. I know I’m not alone in saying I miss Rose already, but the numerous people she touched through her work and the countless charitable gifts she made in support of student-athletes ensure that her memory will carry on for generations to come."

A memorial service is being planned for January at Palisades High School.